Devil's Advocate

“There are critical points on the table at this time of year and if you can be a focused team you can catch a lot of teams with their heads other places,” DeBoer said to Dave Hutchinson of The Star Ledger following a one-hour practice at the AmeriHealth Pavilion. “That’s got to be our goal through this time.”

“I think the guys are smart enough to look at the game and realize we did a lot more right than they did (the Devils outshot the Rangers, 31-21) and our team was in the right place,” DeBoer said. “We hit a hot goalie (Henrik Lundquist had 30 saves). That’s going to happen.”

After fully recovering from an offseason Achilles injury, Travis Zajac will make his season debut with the New Jersey Devils on Friday night against the Dallas Stars. The night adds and extra sense of nostalgia, as former Devils defenseman Scott Niedermayer will have his jersey raised to the rafters prior to the puck drop.

On their way to a 5-4 victory last night, the New Jersey Devils were led by strong performances on the ice by Zach Parise and Adam Henrique. The see-saw battle came down to the final minutes, where the Lightning forced a fair amount of pressure in trying to sneak in and force overtime. Parise and Henrique both finished the night with a goal and two assists.

“It was fun. Ideally we’d like to be able to put the clamps down at the end and shut them down a little better,” Parise said to Rich Chere of the Star Ledger. “We’ll have to keep talking about that and keep working on that. We have to do a better job of putting teams out of it when we have the lead.”

“I feel good. My legs are good. Everything is coming together,” Zajac said. “Now it’s just getting back into game shape. Hopefully before Christmas is the plan. We’ll see. I feel good now. It’s just little things, getting back into shape, and timing has a lot to do with it. Getting the hands and feet working at the same time. As soon as that comes—I’m sure it will be sooner than later—I have to be patient and make sure I’m feeling at my best to get back in.”

There is no other way to word it other then to say that the Devils have been horrible these past couples weeks. After loses against the Islanders, Wild, Avalanche and Jets, the Devils morale is literally down in the dumps. To make matters worse, Devils beat reporter Rich Chere provided these alarming statistics over their most recent trip.

After an Achilles tear that required surgery in August, New Jersey Devils center Travis Zajac is in the waining stages of his recovery process.

“It’s anywhere from just over three months to six months,” Zajac told Rich Chere on the telephone from Winnipeg. “I guess it depends on a lot of things. Being an athlete and being young, I think I should be on the lower end of that time frame. But I’m definitely not going to rush back.”

After securing a 1-0 victory in the first half of a home-at-home series against the Islanders, the Devils looked to bring home another win to help propel them in the standings. Down 3-2 with six seconds left in the third period, Zach Parise pushed to the front of the net after an offensive zone faceoff win and pushed the puck past Isles goalie Al Montoya. The ruling was called a goal on the ice. The game had been tied with one second left on the clock.

Due to absence induced by a turkey coma, I am here to bring everyone up to speed with a few bits of Devils information.

First off, Nick Palmieri has been assigned to the AHL Albany Devils. Palmieri has been tremendously under-performing this year. He has only acquired three goals and three assists during the season so far. This move could be seen as a wake up call for Palmieri. He may also end up being trade bait in the future depending on how he handles his demotion.

“He’s just got to play,” DeBoer said of Palmieri. “He’s got to play with confidence. It’s not an easy league to play in, and we’ve got some depth here — some guys we can move in and out. He needs to go back and find his game.”

Brendan Shanahan, the NHL’s senior vice-president of player safety, reviewed the play today and came to the conclusion that there was significant head contact. However, he felt Myers did not target Zubrus head and tried for a body check when Zubrus leaned forward to reach for the puck.

Meyers clocked Zubrus at the 10:00 mark of the second period. The game was Zubrus 1,000 in the NHL. He left the game after being dazed and did not return.

GM Lou Lamoriello offered no comment on the situation and lack of disciplinary action.

About Devil's Advocate

I am an all around NHL fan. I love to watch Atlantic Division, and root for the Philadelphia Flyers. Just because I cheer for the Flyers, doesn’t mean I don’t keep up with the other teams in the division, specifically the New Jersey Devils. Devils Advocate will provide you with the most important Devils news, filled with my opinion about the selected topic.

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